Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of New Zealand, you would:
Health
be 17.7% less likely to be obese
In New Zealand, 34.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
be 84.7% less likely to die by suicide
New Zealand has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 15.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In New Zealand, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2024.
live 15.8 years less
In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 66 years (64 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2024.
see 97.6% less spent on your healthcare
New Zealand spends $5,576 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 98.3% fewer doctors per person
New Zealand has 36.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 64.7% less access to essential health services
New Zealand scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
be 49.4% less likely to be unemployed
In New Zealand, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 93.9% less money
New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $49,591 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.2 times more children
In New Zealand, there are approximately 11.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 27.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, 189.0 women do as of 2023.
be 7.8 times more likely to die during infancy
In New Zealand, approximately 4.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, 31.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 79.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In New Zealand, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 20% of people on average (65% in urban areas, and 13% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 79.9% less likely to have internet access
In New Zealand, approximately 93.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 46.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In New Zealand, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 53% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 48% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 85.0% less on education
New Zealand spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 71.5% less on healthcare
New Zealand spends 10.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 66.0% less coastline
New Zealand has a total of 15,134 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 2.3 times more likely to die in a road accident
In New Zealand, road accidents kill 6.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 98.4% less strain on fresh water
New Zealand withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 99.4% less home broadband
New Zealand has 38.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 91.3% less CO2
New Zealand emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In New Zealand, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: New Zealand vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to New Zealand? See an in-depth size comparison.